Trauma
by derangedperson
Summary: When a rapist begins attacking friend and foe alike, the Teen Titans scramble to stop him. Rated M for violence, language and subject matter. Slight BBxRae towards the end. Now rewritten and with 80% more exposition and dialogue!
1. The Aftermath

_Rape is just cause for murdering...I want to see you fucking dead!  
_--"Rape Song," Strapping Young Lad

* * *

As far as the three of them were concerned, they were staring at a psychopath, easily one of the most dangerous individuals they'd ever seen. One would even go so far as to say he outdid Slade.

They had walked into a living hell not more than two hours ago. The interior of the apartment looked as if a human grenade had gone off inside of it—blood, brains, and bits of skull and bone were strewn all over the walls and ceiling…and the smell.

Oh, dear Christ, the smell.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. In the middle of all this lay the nearly unrecognizable corpse of what they only assumed could have been a human being, possibly a male. The upper part of the body from the head to the midway part of the sternum had been completely blown away, leaving a frayed, torn mess of gore. The lower part of the body looked as if a weapon had been fired through it, aiming upward. Surely enough, there were holes all throughout the ceiling letting small circular patterns of moonlight into the room.

Thank God this was the top floor, thought Robin.

As if that wasn't enough, closer inspection revealed the corpse was missing its reproductive organs, and it looked like the spot where they'd been was where the weapon was discharged. Sure enough, Cyborg found the organs and a recently fired AK-47 lying near the bed where Raven was sitting, hands cuffed behind her, crying softly. Starfire was doing her best to comfort her, to no avail.

In the midst of all this stood the one who caused this unholy carnage. It was someone not even the Teen Titans could have guessed would be capable of doing something like this. He'd always been so upbeat, so (relatively) calm in the face of danger, so…happy all of the time, that they never even thought twice about the animal lurking beneath the surface.

They thought after the last time that he could keep it under control, but the control must have broken.

Clearly, in this apartment building, in front of one of his closest friends, the animal had been unleashed.

The animal had killed a man.

The animal was Beast Boy.

* * *

Garfield Logan was sitting across from Cyborg, Robin and Starfire in the interrogation room in Titans Tower. Up until now, they never had any reason to use the room, but now it only seemed appropriate. The silence between the four was deafening.

The bullet wound in his shoulder had been treated and bandaged, but his hands were shackled to the armrests of the chair he sat in, and heavy chain was wrapped around his torso and legs, lest he try to escape and do them harm. He had been given a shot of tranquilizer to calm him down as well.

He didn't understand why they were doing this. Barry Hamilton, the man the press had dubbed the Trenchcoat Rapist, was dead. Robin's promise had been fulfilled, Raven was safe, and the residents of Jump City could sleep at night. In his mind, he was a hero.

To his three friends, however, he was a murderer and a threat to everyone around him. They had taken special care of Raven, putting her in her room under quarantine until they figured out what to do with him. Right now, they wanted to get to the bottom of why their normally peaceful, humorous compatriot had snapped. Beast Boy's protest broke the silence:

"Guys, I really don't think this chain is necessary."

Starfire looked him in the eyes and said, "Beast Boy, we do not wish to cause you any harm. I can only hope you do not intend to cause us any harm as well."

"Star, that's ridiculous. Why would I want to hurt you guys?" Beast Boy inquired.

"We saw what you did, man," said Cyborg. "I've never seen anything that horrible before."

"You killed someone, Beast Boy," Robin said. "What we saw in there is something we'll never be able to forget. I'm sure Raven won't be forgetting it anytime soon either. But what I don't understand is why you're so upbeat after all of this."

"Dude, I killed a serial rapist. The son of a bitch had it coming to him."

"That might be true, B.B., but you were completely out of control in there," Cy chimed in. "If Rancid hadn't led us to the place, we would never have been able to stop you."

"Stop me? From what?" Beast Boy asked.

"Killing Raven," Starfire said bluntly.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Gar screamed, nearly lunging out of the chair. "Why would I want to kill her after I just saved her life?"

"We'll see if it was bullshit or not, Beast Boy," said Robin. "Just tell us what happened from the beginning."


	2. Where It All Began

* * *

THREE DAYS AGO

It was a day like any other at Titans Tower. Robin was honing his combat skills, Star was playing with Silkie in her room, and Raven was drinking some herbal tea and trying to read, but Cyborg and Beast Boy's video game antics kept interrupting her. She tried to block the two of them out, but once Cy had beaten Beast Boy, she could do so no longer.

"BOOYAH! Go Cyborg! Go Cyborg!"

"Dude, that's not fair! You cheated!"

"I did no such thing! Don't try to cheapen the fact that I BEAT YOUR BUTT AT SUPER NINJA FURY!"

"_You_ beat _me?_ I was beating YOU! You were on the ROPES, Cy!"

"That's 'cause I hadn't used my secret comeback strategy yet!"

"So you call 'accidentally' unplugging my controller with your foot a comeback strategy?"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?"

Raven looked up from her book and said with an angry tension in her voice, "I am trying to READ, you simpletons! Can you argue a little quieter?"

Not noticing her outburst, Beast Boy turned to her and said, "Raven, you saw that he cheated, right? Please say you did!"

Raven looked him dead in the eyes and replied, "I didn't see a thing."

"_WHAT?_"

"See that, B.B.? Raven knows how it went down!" Cy went to high-five her, but Raven paid no attention.

"Um, Raven…?"

"_What?_" she asked, more irritated than before.

Cy pointed to his hand.

"Oh, all right."

A black glow enveloped Cyborg's hand and caused it to swing downward, where it smacked Beast Boy upside the head.

"DUDE! What was that for?"

"Hey, I didn't do it on purpose!"

Raven grinned to herself and would've continued reading if not for Robin suddenly bursting in.

"Titans! Trouble!"

With that, they headed downtown to stop the latest threat that befell Jump City. They dispatched the villain with relative ease—Cinderblock was getting trickier to stop, but a few bolts from Starfire, a charge from Beast Boy as a T-Rex, and a sonic boom from Cyborg and Robin rendered the giant helpless and defeated.

"Awright!" Cy yelled in triumph. "This calls for a celebration! Who wants pizza?"

Before anyone could answer, Cyborg piled everyone, save Robin, into the T-Car and went to the local pizza place to kick back and celebrate their victory. Everyone was happy and congratulatory throughout, except for Robin.

Starfire took notice and asked him, "Robin, why are you not celebrating? We have just defeated a villain!"

"Star, don't you think things are getting a little too easy?" he asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Beast Boy asked.

"Well, this is the fourth time we've fought Cinderblock in as many weeks. It's really starting to get old, you know?"

"What are you saying, Rob?" Cyborg asked.

"I'm just saying that sometimes I want something a bit more challenging. Something that'll really test me. The same thing over and over gets really tiring after a while."

"I know what you mean," Raven answered as she shot a glance at Beast Boy.

"WHAT WAS THAT LOOK FOR?!" Beast Boy yelled.

"Oh, nothing."

By the time they finished eating, it was getting near dark. Cy, after stuffing nearly a whole pizza into his mouth, stood up and stretched. "Well," he said while spitting food everywhere, "I think we should be getting back to the tower. It's getting pretty late."

"Yes. The day is nearly over and I wish to get some rest," Star said.

"I'm with them," said Raven. "You coming, Robin?"

"I'll meet you guys back home later. Beast Boy and I are going to scope the city one more time, just in case."

"Okay, but you two watch your backs."

Robin put on his helmet, started his motorcycle and sped off with Beast Boy in the sidecar, pointing at Cyborg and mouthing the word "Rematch!" Little did they know that the most personal case they'd ever encounter was just around the bend.

* * *

Robin's precautionary search throughout Jump City for any threats had turned up empty, but tonight that was a good thing. With Beast Boy in tow, the two of them had covered nearly every square inch of the city and were heading back to the tower through the suburbs when a police car outside a house caught their eye.

The house was all too familiar to the two of them.

"Hey, isn't that where Killer Moth lives?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yeah," Robin replied with obvious distaste. "I'm willing to bet his breeding methods got a bit out of control. Either that or it's Kitten again."

Just then, Killer Moth himself came bursting out of the front door and ran towards the motorcycle, and the duo readied themselves just in case. But at first, they didn't recognize him--he was out of costume and in civilian clothing, and his face was a mask of pain and anguish.

He slowed his pace to a walk, stopped, and said, "Robin! Thank God you're here!"

Robin lowered his defenses and asked blankly, "Huh?"

"I just got home about an hour ago, and I think something happened to Kitten."

Upon hearing that name, Robin and Beast Boy rolled their eyes and thought to themselves, "Oh great…what now?"

Robin said point-blank, "I'm not taking her out on a date again, if that's what you're thinking."

"No, no, no! It's not that! I think someone may have broken in and…" He lowered his head and choked out the last words: "…assaulted her."

The pain in his voice was too genuine to be fake. Robin thought it over and told Beast Boy, "Wait here. I'm going to go inside and see what happened."

Robin entered the house and made his way up to Kitten's room. Just as a precaution, and with much apprehension, he knocked on the door.

"Kitten?" No answer.

"Kitten, it's me, Robin. You know…Robbie-Poo?"

No answer.

"Kitten, I'm coming in."

With a turn of the knob, he entered to find Kitten sitting upright on her bed, rocking back and forth with a devastated look on her face. Almost instantly, Robin knew something serious had happened.

"Kitten…what happened to you?" Robin asked as he sat down on her bed.

The weight shift caused her to look up and over at him. Upon seeing his figure, she immediately broke into tears.

"ROBIN!" she cried as she lunged out and grabbed hold of him.

He flinched, surprised, and asked again, "Kitten, what happened?"

"I can't tell you...you won't believe me..."

"Kitten, please--no matter how bad it is, I'll listen."

"Okay." Choking back sobs, she continued: "I…I was just sitting here in my room…listening to some music, minding my own business, when…" She broke down in tears, unable to finish.

"When what?"

She gathered herself and continued. "When I looked up, there was…there was a guy standing at the foot of my bed. I screamed, but he put his hand…over my mouth and told me to be quiet if I…if I wanted to see tomorrow. Then…then he handcuffed my hands behind me, and then he…he…" Her voice trailed off before she could finish.

"He what? What did he do?" Robin prodded.

Kitten stared directly into his eyes and uttered three words:

"He raped me."

Robin felt like he had been hit by a train. Never in his wildest nightmares had he ever expected to hear this from her. Shocked, he asked her, "A…Are you sure?"

She sniffed and replied, "Yes."

"Do you have any proof?"

"There's a…a webcam on top of my…my computer. I...I think I may have left it on by mistake."

He prayed that it had been as he prepared to play the footage. Sure enough, it was, and there was Kitten, an hour and a half before, sitting on her bed listening to some music with her eyes closed, not noticing the man coming through the open window. Then he saw the attack unfold before him in every sickening detail. He watched, horrified, as the man cuffed her hands, taped her mouth shut and deflowered her.

When the video ended, Robin got up and stiffly walked over to Kitten and embraced her. At this point, all the grief she gave him in the past—the prom date, the falling in with the Brotherhood of Evil, the faked abduction—none of it mattered. She was a frightened, damaged teenager that desperately needed comfort, if only momentary, and Robin was more than willing to give that to her.

His eyes welled with tears and his voice shook as he said, "Kitten, I swear to you, we _will_ find this guy and we _will_ stop him. We'll make sure he never hurts anyone again. He's a menace, and we'll kill him if we have to."

She looked up upon hearing this and said through her tears, "Do it for me, Robbie-Poo."

Normally hearing that name put Robin into sickened convulsions, but this time was different. "We will, Kitten." He rested his head on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "We will." At that moment, a single tear trickled down his cheek.

Through all of this, neither noticed the little green spider on the ceiling above them. When Robin got on his bike, Beast Boy was still sitting in the sidecar, only with a dazed, shocked look on his face. Neither said anything as they sped off towards the tower.


	3. Revelations

TWO DAYS AGO

It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. No back talk, no smart-ass remarks, no gloating. Just a blank stare. Cyborg had never seen him like this before, but he just figured he was trying to concentrate on the game. Sure enough, Beast Boy had him on the ropes once again, and he employed his secret comeback strategy to pick up the win. While he was dancing around the room celebrating, waiting for Beast Boy to respond, he noticed something odd.

Silence.

Beast Boy wasn't saying anything. Cy took note of this and said, "B.B., I just beat you with my secret comeback strategy! Why aren't you complaining that I cheated?"

He answered, in the most depressed, dazed voice possible, "Because you won."

"Yeah, but I cheated! Again! Doesn't that bother you?"

"Not today. Not after what Robin told me."

Oh yeah, Cyborg thought. They'd been on patrol last night and got back really late, around 2 in the morning. They'd looked like hell, he thought to himself, and I want to know why.

Concerned, he asked, "What happened last night, man?"

Beast Boy looked at him and said, "Robin's coming downstairs in a few minutes. He's going to tell us everything."

Sure enough, as he said this, Robin came through the door with Starfire and Raven in tow. He slowly made his way towards the big screen TV as the girls took a seat on either side of the boys. He turned around, cleared his throat, and began.

"Last night, as you know, Beast Boy and I went on a patrol of the city. On our way back here, we saw a police cruiser outside of Killer Moth's house."

Starfire gritted her teeth and said, "That no good Robin-stealing Kitten was trying to take you away again?"

Robin raised his hand and sadly replied, "No, Star. Kitten…" He trailed off before he could finish.

Everyone except Beast Boy leaned in to see what he had to say.

"The reason that the police were there had nothing to do with a bunch of mutant moths either. Something happened to Kitten."

Robin sighed as the final three words came out in a steely, dead serious voice: "Kitten was raped."

Cyborg recoiled in shock and screamed, "WHAT? You've gotta be kidding me, Rob!" "Oh my God…" Raven gasped. Starfire covered her mouth in horror.

"Unfortunately, Cy, I'm not kidding." Robin held up his communicator. "I probably shouldn't even play this. This is a webcam video of the attack—I downloaded it onto my communicator for closer inspection of who this guy might be. It's sickening, but I made a promise to Kitten that we'd stop this sick son of a bitch. I want all of you to see what we're up against."

He plugged his communicator into the TV and played the video. When it was all over, Starfire was sobbing loudly into Cyborg's shoulder. Cy himself looked like he was about to die. Raven was agape and mumbling to herself, "My God…my God…my God…" Beast Boy had gotten up and left, unable to deal with the footage again.

"This is easily the most personal case we've ever seen, guys. If we don't stop this guy as soon as possible, who knows who he'll get next? One was one too many. Let's get this scumbag off the streets as quick as we can."

The meeting was over and the TV was turned back to the main channel, where a breaking news report was in progress. "…the second known victim of the so-called 'Trenchcoat Rapist,' called that because of the coat he uses to hide his identity, has come forward," the newsman said. "We now take you live to Titans East headquarters."

Immediately, everyone felt nauseous. There was no doubt who the victim was.

Bumblebee appeared on the screen and the Titans could tell that after such a traumatic event, she was no shrinking violet. After the reporter on the scene (the TV said his name was Alex Carter) asked her for details on how he managed to enter the tower, she said, "The guy got in through the front door! How crazy is that?"

"Do you know exactly how he managed to get inside the tower?"

"Aqualad said he was wearing a police uniform."

"Did he see anything that would have given away his identity? A badge; an ID card?"

She answered, "He thought he saw the name 'Barry' or 'Larry' or something like that. Either way, he looked at me and said he had something important to tell me…"

She paused, collected herself, and continued. "So we both went up to my room, and when I turned around, he had a trenchcoat on and he advanced on me. So I'm flying all over the place firing at him, but after about 20 seconds, he just raised his hand and swatted me out of the air…I don't remember anything after that."

Carter asked as sensitively as possible, "So when you woke up…you knew something had happened to you?"

"Yeah, I could tell. Speedy's analyzing the DNA sample that was left behind as we speak."

Then she turned into the camera and said, "Titans West, we heard about what happened to Kitten. Make sure you stop this guy for us!"

Robin switched off the TV. "Guys, we've got work to do."

* * *

It was turning out to be an exercise in futility. The footage was too far out of focus to find out who the Trenchcoat Rapist was. Every lead they found turned out to be a dead end. But later that day, Robin and Cyborg made what they thought to be a breakthrough.

Upon closer inspection of the footage, the figure looked to be about six to six and a half feet tall, bald, and well built. The two of them knew only one individual who was built like that.

_"Slade!"_ The name escaped Robin's lips with a venom previously unheard. Not only had he made the Titans' lives a living hell in the past, but now he had sunk even lower…even for him.

Cyborg, however, was a bit put off. Wasn't he listening to the TV before? Didn't he hear Bumblebee say the guy was wearing a police uniform? Nevertheless, he played along with Robin's suspicions.

"Robin, are you sure about this, man?" he asked. "Slade doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would do something like this."

Robin glared at him and spat back, "What makes you think so?"

"Don't you think he would have left a message or sent one of his robots by now if he had? Besides, he's a career criminal. Rape seems a bit too dark for him."

"I don't care!" Robin yelled. "He's obviously doing this to wear us down and distract us so he can put us out of the picture!"

"But, Rob…"

"BUT NOTHING! Goddammit, Cyborg, show some fucking _backbone_ for once in your life! There is a RAPIST loose on the streets and he's going to be stopped, even if I have to go it alone! If you're not with me, then get the hell out of my way!"

Cyborg stepped back, shocked. Sure, Robin had obsessed over cases before, but this was getting dangerous, even for him. So he looked Robin dead in the eyes and said, "Robin, I want this sicko off the streets just as bad as you do. But if you're going to jump to the simplest conclusion and point your finger at whoever you like, I don't want anything to do with it."

He didn't hear him. He just point blank asked, "Are you coming with me or not?"

"I'm not helping you kill an innocent man."

Robin shot a glare at Cyborg that was unlike any he'd ever seen—he seriously looked like he was going to kill him right then and there. Instead, he turned around and spat, "Fine! I'll do it myself!"

Robin left the room and left Cyborg to deal with his own devices. Remembering Bumblebee's testimony, he hacked into the Jump City police database to find out more about this six-foot balding ex-police officer named Barry or Larry. By the end of the night, he'd have his man.

* * *

Beast Boy sat on the couch with Raven and Starfire, hoping to bring himself some sense of closure.

"Guys, I've never been this scared before," he said.

"Nor have I, Beast Boy," replied Starfire. "Because of this trenchcoat-wearing rapist, I am now afraid to even step outside the tower."

"It is a dangerous situation, that's for sure," said Raven. "But why did you leave the room when Robin played the video?"

Raven paused for a moment, then realized why he'd done so. "You were there in Kitten's room, weren't you?"

He looked up at her and weakly said, "Yeah."

"Beast Boy, you must tell Robin you were there!" Starfire exclaimed.

"I wasn't there when the rape happened, Star. I was in her room when he made his promise to her."

"Promise?"

"He said, 'He's a menace, and we'll kill him if we have to.' And dammit, I think that's what we're going to have to do."

"We'll kill him? Why?" Raven asked.

"Rae, you know and I know that if he's put in jail, he's just going to get out and do this again. We can't let that happen."

Star said, "Then…you know about Bumblebee?"

"What?"

"The rapist took her as well."

Shaken even more than before, Beast Boy sat down to catch his bearings before mumbling to himself, "No…no…no…not you too…"

Raven said, "I know that we're all scared right now, but we can't just rush into this without a clear idea of who he might be. We can't just go around…"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT, RAVEN!" he yelled. "What if this bastard winds up killing someone? Every second he's free, people are in danger! The sooner we take care of him, the better!"

"Beast Boy, I have never heard such words from you before," said Starfire. "Why are you so panicked and desperate to murder this criminal?"

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT HIM TO GET YOU GUYS!" He sank to the floor, repeated that statement, and began to sob uncontrollably.

Almost immediately, the two girls went over to console him. "Beast Boy, nothing's going to happen to us as long as we stick together," Raven assured.

"Yes, Beast Boy. Do not weep. We are here, and we will stay here," Starfire said. Just then, Cyborg raced into the living room.

"I don't mean to interrupt what's going on here, but I think Robin's about to kill someone," he said.

"Who?" asked Starfire.

"Slade. He thought he might be the rapist and he just tore off on his cycle about five minutes ago. If we don't stop him…"

"It's _Slade_, Cyborg," said Raven. "How do we know he _didn't_ do it?"

"Because I think I have a damn good idea who did."

* * *

He didn't expect this so soon.

His latest plan hadn't even come into fruition yet, and here Robin was, fighting like a demon.

Either he's just gained psychic abilities, or he's really stupid.

All of this was going through Slade's head as he fought off Robin's attacks. But for some reason, he felt apprehensive. The look on Robin's face was one of pure, simmering vitriol—he clearly intended to kill him, or die trying.

"Robin, I don't know what you're trying to do, but rest assured, I have done nothing."

"Don't give me that line of shit! I know for a FACT it was you!"

Robin came at Slade full throttle with a flurry of punches, kicks and other assorted blows that seemed to come out of nowhere. Slade staggered back, almost shocked at this offensive juggernaut, and a quick punch from Robin had him on the floor. Then he felt the sensation of being lifted up by his collar and found himself staring into the face of a man possessed.

The look on Robin's face was absolutely terrifying. Teeth grinding, breathing heavily, spit flying in all directions, eyes almost completely bloodshot—a vessel in his left eye had actually ruptured and was slowly turning the whole of it red—this face was enough to put the fear of God into anybody. Even Slade himself.

He said, with a slight tinge of panic in his voice, "Robin…what has gotten into you? You've never been this angry at anyone before."

"You know goddamned well why I'm angry, you sick fuck!" Robin spat. "Did you really think you'd get away with it?"

"Get away with what?" Slade calmly asked.

"Raping Kitten and Bumblebee!"

Slade was shocked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"BULLSHIT! You're on the video, you're the same height, the same figure, the same build…EVERYTHING! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

He was just about to take the birdarang in his free hand and cut Slade's throat with it when the others burst in.

"Robin! Stop!" Star screamed.

"He's innocent! He's not the one who did it!" Beast Boy added.

"What makes you so goddamn sure?" Robin growled.

"Did you honestly forget the news report?" asked Raven.

Slightly confused, Robin asked, "News report…?"

"Yeah, the news report," said Cyborg calmly. "Bumblebee said the guy who attacked her was wearing a police uniform. He even had an ID card and a badge on him. You've got the wrong guy, man."

Robin stared angrily at Slade before he let him go. "This isn't over," he snarled.

"Not by a long shot," Slade replied. As the Titans began to leave, Slade suddenly called out, "It appears your quarry has struck again, Robin. Next time, listen to your friends and do some more careful detective work."

"What the hell is he talking about?" Cyborg asked.

"I don't know," Raven answered. "That was kinda out of the blue for him to just blurt that out, don't you think?"

On their way back to the tower, they passed by a remote part of town and noticed a large group of police cruisers and an ambulance off to the side of the road. Cyborg pulled over and asked a police officer, "What happened?"

"We found a body in the ditch down there," the cop answered. "We think it might be a victim of the Trenchcoat Rapist."

Cyborg put the T-Car in park and got out to get a closer look. Just then the EMT's brought a stretcher up with the body strapped to it. Upon seeing it, Cyborg screamed in pain and began to pound on the hood of the car.

Everyone inside immediately got out to see what had caused Cy to react so brutally. When they got a closer look at the body, they gasped in horror.

It was Jinx.

The Trenchcoat Rapist was now a murderer.


	4. When It All Goes To Hell

YESTERDAY

Six p.m. and the sun was down already. Starfire and Raven were still trying to get some sleep, but neither could after yesterday. Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy were still wide awake and dazed. Their attempts at sleep throughout the day had been futile, so they went downstairs and looked at the police file Cyborg had found.

They could barely stand it, but Cyborg had shown his declaration at Slade's to be right. His hacking into the database of the Jump City police had revealed a file on a man who had been known to them previously. He'd actually broken into the tower with a loaded AK-47 about four months ago and tried to shoot up the place, but a quick, merciless beating from all five was what he got in return.

The man was Barry Hamilton, age 34. Six feet, four inches tall, 201 pounds. He'd been kicked off the police force seven months prior for tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice in addition to numerous sexual harassment complaints from the female officers. On the day of his termination, the department reported an AK-47 recovered from a drug raid missing, but were never able to find it. Obviously, judging from their memory of the attempted invasion, Hamilton had stolen it.

A footnote at the end of the report showed that Hamilton had developed an intense hatred for the Teen Titans and those associated with them. To him, they were stealing the police's thunder and taking away their workload and hard-earned pay, making them look like incompetents. He'd reportedly said to his boss that he'd get rid of them himself on his last day there, and now he looked as if he might.

The three previous attacks had all involved friends and foes in their lives. They had obviously been meant to get under their skin and create unease and tension in the ranks. Based on what happened yesterday with Slade, it had clearly worked.

Hamilton was winning.

"He has us exactly where he wants us," said Robin. "Now he's just waiting for us to let our guard down."

What they didn't know was that at that very moment in Starfire's room, Barry Hamilton was preparing for attack. He had literally walked up the side of the tower using magnetic charges in his boots--stolen from the police after arresting Mumbo--and managed to enter through her bedroom window. Unfortunately for him, she awoke and was about to scream before he subdued her with a hit of chloroform. He pulled a hypodermic needle and a clear liquid from his coat, filled the needle, and injected the drug into Starfire's neck. Now she was quiet and helpless…just the way he liked 'em.

"Finally…I have you right where I want you," he hissed. "Things are _finally_ starting to go my way. With you five out of the picture, the police will thank me."

He began to lie on top of her when Starfire awoke from her chemical slumber. No fuckin' way, Hamilton thought. That was enough chloroform to drop a horse! When she awoke, she noticed the trenchcoat-wearing rapist sitting on top of her and attempted to blow him away with her star bolts. But nothing was happening. She couldn't fire through her eyes, and she couldn't fire through her hands. What was going on?

Hamilton grinned and replied, "I always think ahead, bitch. That there's a power nullifier, care of Dr. Chang. Looks like you can't attack me."

"That is where you are WRONG!" she yelled. With no other option, she screamed with all the power her lungs could muster in the hopes that someone would hear her. Hamilton clamped his hand over her mouth and attempted to get the job done before anyone showed up. Fortunately, someone did. Within seconds, Robin, Beast Boy, Raven and Cyborg were at her door, staring into the wild, blazing eyes of a madman.

"STARFIRE!" Robin screamed. "GET OFF OF HER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Hamilton whipped his head around and sadistically said, _"Robin!_ So nice to finally meet you! Did you get my message?"

"YOU KILLED JINX!" Cyborg screamed. "YOU FUCKING KILLED HER!"

"Damn straight! She wouldn't cooperate, so I had to make sure she did!"

Raven gritted her teeth and spat, "You are fucking SICK!"

"Aren't I, though? And now that I have all five of you here, I can kill you all and finish my job."

The four drew their weapons and began to advance on him. "I DON'T THINK SO!" Robin screamed. "GIVE IT UP, HAMILTON! IT'S OVER!"

"Robin, Robin, Robin--you are in no position to be threatening me right now."

"AND WHY THE FUCK NOT?!"

In a flash, he whipped out that same AK-47 and aimed it at the four of them.

"Because I'm the one with the gun."

Hamilton began to fire just as Raven enveloped the four in a protective shield. Starfire attempted to grab at the gun, but Hamilton yanked her back down by her hair and pointed it in her face.

"Looks like I'll have an audience for this one!" he exclaimed as he cocked the gun. "GOODBYE, STARFIRE!"

Before he could fire off any shots, Beast Boy morphed into a monkey and jumped on Hamilton's face, giving Raven an opening to get Starfire to safety. She enveloped her in a black aura and carried her over to her teammates while Hamilton struggled with Beast Boy. Raven guided Starfire into Cyborg's arms and prepared to attack Hamilton when he suddenly pulled Beast Boy off his face and flung him across the room.

Then he looked down.

Raven. Now _there's_ a trophy.

A sick, predatory smile spread across his face as he grabbed the AK-47 and raised it into the air. Raven tried to get off those three words, but only got as far as "Aza—" before Hamilton struck her down, rendering her unconscious.

"Not so dangerous now, are you, bitch?" he sneered. He picked her up, turned to the four and said triumphantly, "Well, Titans, I may have lost the battle, but I've won the war!"

Beast Boy looked up and managed to get a glimpse of Hamilton standing triumphant in his own mind and holding Raven unconscious in his arms. Robin, Star and Cy were safe. Now it was time to save her.

"RAVEN! You let her go, you—"

Hamilton pulled a tazer from his coat and shoved it into Beast Boy's side. The shock rendered him stunned and staring up at Hamilton, gritting his teeth and breathing heavily. His eyes seemed to go feral and primitive as he glared at him.

Hamilton made his way to the window and warned, "Any one of you tries to follow me, and I'll kill her in front of ya!" He shot out the window, walked down the side of the tower and approached a speedboat anchored just off the rocks.

He jumped in and sped off, leaving the remaining Titans standing and staring in total shock at Beast Boy standing in the open space where there once was a window, shattered glass digging into his feet, ranting and screaming and swearing:

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE, YOU MOTHERFUCKER! I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU MOTHERFUCKING BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU'RE DEAD, FUCKER! DEAD, DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU MOTHERFUCKER! I'LL TEAR YOU THE FUCK APART! _RAVEN!_"

He dropped to his knees and screamed as if his very soul was being ripped from his body. No one dared to stop him.

* * *

There was no point trying to talk sense into him. The look in Beast Boy's eyes suggested to everyone that he was about to snap at any given second. Still, it didn't hurt to try.

Cyborg said, "He's going to kill her if he sees you. You know that."

As he picked the shards of glass out of his feet, Beast Boy icily answered, "I'm going after him, Cy. I don't care what he said."

"But Beast Boy, he said he would kill Raven!" Starfire protested. "I do not wish to bring about the death of our friend!"

"You won't bring about her death, Star. If anything, it's him that's headed for a shallow grave."

Robin and Cyborg were next in line.

"Beast Boy, we need to regroup and—"

"REGROUP? He's locked away in the city somewhere with Raven and you expect me to just sit here and draw up a battle plan? Fuck that! If we don't get her back now, she's _dead!_ Do you want that on your conscience?"

Anything Robin had on his mind was wiped out in an instant. Cy tried to inject reason into his friend.

"B.B., there's a good chance you might wind up dead too."

"I don't care. I don't want to sit on my hands and do nothing while one of my friends gets raped and killed and thrown in a ditch somewhere. Besides, there's a promise we need to fulfill. Isn't that right, Robin?" He glared at his teammate with a look of disdain and scorn before morphing into a falcon and flying across the ocean to the main part of town.

Just then, the Titans got a distress call. Johnny Rancid was on the loose.


	5. Hopeless

DOWNTOWN

Raven groggily awoke to find herself in bed…but not her bed. It damn sure wasn't her room, either. She tried to rub her eyes, but discovered that her hands were cuffed behind her back. Duct tape covered her mouth and twice wound around the back of her head, further securing the gag. Her ankles were bound with duct tape and tightly strapped to the bed. And to make things worse, her communicator was still in her room.

Fuck.

Barry Hamilton sat in a chair near the bed, cleaning his AK-47 and loading a clip to the hilt. She let out a panicked yelp from her throat, causing Hamilton to turn around and exclaim, "Oh...good evening." He then assured her, "Relax, honey—this isn't for you. It's for your friends—at this point I'm just waiting for one of 'em to come through that door. Is it going to be the metal man?"

He fired a shot, destroying a small clay model of Cyborg across the room from them.

"Is it going to be that orange-skinned freak?"

Another shot, and Starfire was gone.

"Or will it be the fearless leader?"

Robin flew apart, spraying shards of broken clay across the floor.

"Oh. I nearly forgot. The shapeshifting wiseass!"

Beast Boy was blown away.

Raven had a look of total abject terror on her face as she let out muffled screams and pounded on the bed in the faint hopes that someone would hear her. Hamilton just put down his gun, sat back in his chair and grinned. "Go ahead," he insisted. "Scream all you want. No one's gonna hear you."

"Hmmph? (What?)"

"This building was remodeled into an apartment complex a year ago. The whole selling point of this deal was the peace and quiet the apartments offered. Why do you think it's called Serenity Tower?"

Raven shook her head in an "I don't know" gesture.

"Well, honey, when I say 'peace and quiet,' I mean it. Nobody's able to hear what the other person's doing in these casas. Have you figured it out yet?"

Raven shook her head again.

"Well," Hamilton said as he spread his arms out in a triumphant Jesus Christ pose, "what that means is that this bitch is completely soundproof. There's no point in yelling or making any noise. No one's gonna hear you."

Raven's eyes grew wide as she attempted to get a hold of her powers, but nothing came. _What the hell did he do to me?_ she asked herself.

"Oh, and I guess you're wondering about your 'Asswrath' shit, aren't ya, honey?" He dangled the medicine jar in front of him and smiled sadistically. "A little present Dr. Chang cooked up for me. Power nullifyer."

The weight of her situation even greater, Raven's body slid down until she was flat on the bed. A few solitary tears of frustration escaped her eyes before she noticed Hamilton taking a tissue to her eyes, saying, "Don't cry, honey. It'll all be over soon."

Raven screamed muffled threats at Hamilton and squirmed and struggled against her bonds, to no avail. Nobody knew where she was. Nobody could hear her. Her powers were rendered useless. He could do whatever he wanted to her now.

At that point, Raven felt totally alone.


	6. A Murder Well Deserved

Everybody noticed it.

There was a green cheetah tearing through the streets of Jump City, jumping on top of and over traffic, running over the hoods of gridlocked vehicles in a seemingly desperate attempt to get somewhere. Most people knew who it was, but little did they know why he was running.

He'd morphed into a bloodhound when he got on land and almost immediately picked up Hamilton's scent. He started to run, but a dog wouldn't get him there in time, he thought. So he morphed into a cheetah and he was off and running.

Faster. Faster. Faster, dammit.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Titans were busy on the opposite side of town trying to stop Rancid. He was driving his motorcycle again, randomly firing at anything and everything that crossed his path. Robin was on his cycle riding nearly alongside him while Starfire and Cyborg were in the T-Car trying their best to keep up.

Robin got alongside Rancid long enough to yell, "Pull over, Rancid! Give it up!"

"You first, Bird Boy!" he responded, ramming his motorcycle into Robin's, nearly causing him to topple over. Thankfully, he righted himself and was back in the chase.

Rancid tried to cut their pursuit short and speed off, but some cannon shots from Cyborg and eye bolts from Starfire put an end to that plan quick. So he turned to the left and began to head downtown, with three-fifths of the Teen Titans in hot pursuit.

* * *

Hamilton was relishing this. He had told her everything.

The reasons why he hated the Titans. "You took away my living," he spat. "You took my job—the police's job—and turned it into a fucking joke! You five think you're so high and mighty…if it weren't for your powers, you'd all be dead by now!"

The attack four months ago—he's still got a grudge, thought Raven.

The rapes. "Don't think I started with that little blonde slut--oh, no. I've been at this for the better part of a year. There were ten cases of the Trenchcoat Rapist attacking before she came along, and all ten cases went unsolved. That's easy to do when the officer manning the case was none other than yours truly!"

Raven gasped at his audacity as he continued: "But the last three—those were supposed to get under your skin, drive some genuine panic into your hearts! The first two went quietly, but that bitch from the Hive…I had to fuckin' _strangle_ her before I was able to do her!"

My God...he's lost his mind.

"And I would've had that orange-skinned freak too if she hadn't screamed for ya!" He backed off, calmed himself down, and said with a sadistic, gleeful sneer in his voice, "But I've got you right here, Raven. Nobody knows where we are. And now…the fun begins."

He took off his shirt and advanced on the helpless girl.

* * *

Beast Boy stopped dead in his tracks. The scent led inside the building in front of him. So into the building he tore, running up the stairs as fast as his cheetah legs could carry him.

Hold on, Raven. I'm coming.

* * *

Rancid was laughing, shooting wildly at the Titans, trying to knock them off his trail.

No luck.

Their drive alone was enough to make him nervous, but he put it out of his mind and gunned the engine.

Half a mile away.

* * *

Hamilton was taking his time. Make her fear you, he thought. Make her so afraid that she'll put up a fight when you do her. Fighters are always better.

He laid down on top of her and slowly tore the fabric of her clothes. The anticipation was killing him.

* * *

The top floor. Now he was there. Straight ahead. Straight on till morning.

He morphed back into himself and checked his watch.

Midnight.

Time to die, fucker.

He morphed into a ram and charged through Hamilton's front door, sending wood and metal flying everywhere. Hamilton heard the ruckus outside his bedroom and giddily exclaimed, "Shit! I didn't think I was gonna have an audience for this one!"

Raven stared at him in terror as he stroked her hair and sneered, "I'll be right back, honey. Don't go anywhere." He rose from the bed, stretched, and walked to his bedroom door. When he turned the knob and opened it, a green pitbull jumped on top of him and sank its teeth into his left arm. Hamilton didn't even have time to react.

Raven sat up and let out a muffled yell of "BEAST BOY!"

He was quick, rabid, merciless. No matter how hard Hamilton tried, he couldn't loosen his grip. They flew all over the room, knocking objects off of shelves, breaking glass, knocking a TV out of the window and into the street below.

"ALL RIGHT, THAT'S _IT_!" Hamilton screamed, and smashed the dog back first into the doorjamb of his bathroom. Almost instantly, it morphed back into Beast Boy and he lay there, seemingly unconscious, but waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He noticed a screwdriver lying on the floor and clenched it tightly in his hand.

"Fuckin' dog!" Hamilton cursed as he shut the door. He retreated to the bathroom and wrapped his arm in bandages. When he finished, he came over and kicked Beast Boy to make sure he was unconscious. There was no reply. He kicked him again. No reply. Hamilton kicked him one more time for good measure.

Almost instantly, every semblance of who Beast Boy once was vanished into thin air. With an inhuman roar, he brought up his hand and slammed it down, driving the screwdriver through Hamilton's foot, pinning it to the floor.

He screamed in pain as Beast Boy rose and punched him in the face, sending him down to the floor. As he fell, Hamilton pulled a pistol from its holster and shot Beast Boy once in the shoulder, smiling evilly at his action.

Beast Boy didn't even flinch. Instead, it only further angered him.

The smile and the color instantly drained from Hamilton's face. At that point, he knew he was screwed.

Beast Boy got down on his knees, grabbed Hamilton's hand with his right, took the gun with his left and flung it across the room. All the while he made his grip tighter and tighter until a series of sharp cracking sounds, accompanied with Hamilton's screams of pain, were heard.

But he wasn't done yet. Not by a long shot.

Raven shut her eyes. There was no way in hell she was going to watch what was about to happen.

He let go of Hamilton's hand and morphed his own into a claw, and in a flash, he buried it in Hamilton's crotch. Hamilton screamed in ungodly agony as Beast Boy's hand came away with the mangled remains of the Trenchcoat Rapist's greatest threat. Beast Boy answered Hamilton's scream with a scream of his own, one of pure animalistic triumph.

He angrily flung the raw meat against the nearest wall as Hamilton whimpered in pain while blood poured out of his wound. Hamilton attempted to back away from him, and he would have succeeded if not for the screwdriver embedded in his foot. Normally, one would let the bastard suffer and bleed to death on the floor.

Not him, though. That was too good for him.

Hamilton knew his time was almost up and he begged Beast Boy to stop. "NO MORE! NO MORE! FOR GOD'S SAKE, SHOW SOME MERCY!"

But there would be no mercy. Not today.

He picked Hamilton's bloody body off the ground and plowed onward.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rancid and the Titans were nearly there.

"What's the matter, Bird Boy?" Rancid yelled. "Am I too fast for ya?"

When he said this, he didn't notice the broken TV lying in the street. He turned around just in time to notice it, screamed "WHOA!" and turned sharply to avoid it, wiping out in the process.

"Who leaves a broken TV in the middle of the friggin' street?" he yelled.

The Titans pulled over and were about to apprehend him when they heard crashing, banging, and panicked yelling from the top floor of the five-story building. A window was broken, and Robin could barely make out two figures engaged in a completely one-sided battle.

Rancid wondered, "What the hell's going on up there?"

"I don't…" Then the realization of who it was hit Robin like a ton of bricks. "_Hamilton!_"

"B.B.!" Cy added.

"And Raven is there as well!" Star yelled.

They started towards the door of the building as Cyborg yelled, "Rancid, we've gotta take care of this! Get out of here!"

"What?"

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

He knew better than to ask again. He righted his motorcycle, got on and sped off as the three Titans rushed into the building.

* * *

Beast Boy was fighting a one-man war, and he was winning.

Fist met flesh again and again as he punched Hamilton in the face repeatedly, breaking his jaw. When he threw him to the floor, he drove his knees into his chest, breaking Hamilton's ribs in the process. He rammed his head into the bedpost as hard as he could, only doing it twice before throwing Hamilton's carcass against the wall, splattering blood all over it.

He'd been taken to school and then some. Now it was time to end this thing once and for all.

He went to the bed where Raven was sitting and grabbed the AK-47. His eyes had a furious, malevolent sheen as he approached Hamilton and shoved the barrel into his mouth, breaking some of his teeth that weren't already broken in the process. He screamed, "HOW DOES IT FEEL, YOU MOTHERFUCKER?!"

Hamilton moaned in pain.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU PUT THEM THROUGH?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU PUT _US_ THROUGH?! ALL BECAUSE OF A FUCKING GRUDGE?!"

Beast Boy lowered his voice and snarled, "You are fucking _DIRT_. You don't deserve to live." He cocked the gun, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, he hesitated.

"Ohhhh no. Through the head's too fucking good for you, you piece of shit!"

He forced Hamilton to stand, and when he was upright enough, Beast Boy thrust the AK-47's barrel into the bloody hole that once held Barry Hamilton's weapon of choice. Hamilton screamed in agony as Beast Boy raged, "SCREAM ALL YOU WANT, ASSHOLE! DO YOU FEEL THEIR FUCKING PAIN NOW?!"

He shoved the barrel further into the wound as he screamed the names of those Hamilton had wronged. "THIS IS FOR KITTEN! THIS IS FOR JINX! THIS IS FOR RAVEN! _THIS IS FOR EVERYONE WHOSE FUCKING LIVES YOU'VE DESTROYED!"_ Then, a final exclamation, one of pure, unadulterated rage and anger, rang through the apartment:

__

"GO TO FUCKING HELL!"

Beast Boy pulled the trigger. The deafening clatter of rifle fire filled the room as the bullets tore Hamilton's upper body to shreds and exited through the roof. When the clip was emptied, he pulled the barrel out and watched what was left of Hamilton drop to the floor with a wet thud. Breathing heavily, Beast Boy stared at the carnage he had wrought as the bloodlust faded away and his rationality returned. When it did, he gasped in shock at what he'd done.

"Oh my God..." he mumbled. "Raven..."

As he turned to free her, an electric shock ran through his body, knocking him unconscious. Cyborg lowered his cannon as the trio stood in the doorway of the bedroom, staring in shock and terror at the carnage before them. He broke the silence.

"Let's...let's get them out of here."


	7. Vindicated

TODAY

"…and then you guys showed up."

When Beast Boy finished his recollection of the events, Robin began the interrogation.

"So, Beast Boy…you were in the room when we were at Killer Moth's?"

"Yeah."

"You heard what I said to Kitten?"

Beast Boy sang, "I'll do anything for you...kill anyone for you..."

"Don't dick around, Beast Boy. Answer the question."

He snapped back to reality and said, "Yeah."

"Now, when Hamilton kidnapped Raven, you were the one standing there and screaming at him—what caused you to do something like that, man?" Cyborg wondered.

"After Robin showed the tape, I…I was talking to Star and Raven about how worried I was for the city's safety. I said I didn't want him to get his hands on either one of them or anyone else. But when that happened, I just lost it."

Starfire turned to Robin and said, "He is telling the truth."

Robin nodded his head slightly and turned back to Beast Boy. "When you got there, you engaged Hamilton in combat. Do you remember anything from the time you left the tower to the time we got to the apartment?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I was all nerves. I don't remember a thing."

"And you expect us to believe that because you were 'all nerves,' you don't remember what you did to him?"

"Um…yeah."

Robin threw photos taken after the carnage across the table to his friend. Beast Boy looked a bit shocked, but not surprised.

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard, Beast Boy."

"Robin, he was going to…"

"If you had waited for us, he would still be alive and we could have punished him the right way—in the courts!"

Beast Boy leaned as far forward as he could and said, with growing anger in his voice, "Are you _serious?_"

"You're damn right I'm serious!" Robin answered. "If you had stayed behind and regrouped like I asked you to…"

"I WASN'T GOING TO SIT THERE AND DO NOTHING WHILE RAVEN WAS IN TROUBLE! WHY DON'T YOU SEE THAT?"

"Because I wanted things done the RIGHT way! You were completely out of line!"

Beast Boy slammed the legs of the chair into the floor, taking everyone by surprise. "You mean to tell me that you wanted things done the RIGHT way? Cy told us you ran off to kill Slade after that news report on Bumblebee, even though she said that the guy was wearing a police uniform! Does THAT sound like the right way to you?"

Robin tried to answer. "Well…"

"And Star saying I was about to kill Raven! Did you put that bullshit in her head? Are you that desperate to pin the blame on me?"

"That's…"

"AND you made that promise to Kitten! You said, 'WE'LL find this guy and WE'LL stop him!' You even said 'WE'LL kill him if we have to!' I didn't hear any references to 'I'LL stop him and kill him!'"

Robin broke into a cold sweat. "Uh…"

"AND NOW you're sitting here all high and mighty trying to lessen the impact of what I did! That sick fuck was going to rape and kill one of your friends—someone you helped save when the world was ABOUT TO END!—and you're going to tell me WITH A STRAIGHT FACE that I was out of line for what I did to him?"

Robin couldn't answer. Beast Boy was right.

"_WELL?_"

By now, Cy and Star were looking at Robin to see if he'd say anything in his defense.

Then Beast Boy delivered the hammer. "Or are you just pissed that I killed him and you didn't?"

Robin, shocked, tried to explain. "Beast Boy, this whole incident made us all act irrationally. I think…after hearing what you said that maybe I suffered the most of it."

"You're damn right you did," Cyborg said.

"I was just so desperate to get that guy off the streets that I was willing to do anything and blame anyone for it." The regret in his voice was palpable as he said, "I was afraid for you guys. I didn't want anything to happen to you either. I meant what I said to Kitten—that wasn't just for her. That was for the whole city."

His three compatriots looked at him and could tell he wasn't lying. Maybe it was Robin who'd suffered the most because of this.

"Guys, I'm sorry. I should have been more careful."

Starfire said, "Do not feel regret, friend. An incident such as this can help you to learn from your mistakes and to become a better leader. You do not know victory until you taste defeat."

Robin smiled faintly, the first time he'd done so in days. "Ain't that the truth." The two of them embraced.

Cyborg went over to untie Beast Boy, saying. "Well, it looks like you're off the hook, B.B. You got anything else to say?"

He stood up, stretched, rubbed his wrists and simply asked, "Can I go see Raven now?"

Cy nodded his head.

Beast Boy left the interrogation room and half walked, half staggered to Raven's room. Robin, noticing what Cyborg did out of the corner of his eye, said, "Should we follow him?"

"No. He's been through a lot today. Let's let them have their reunion alone with each other. We can see her later."

Robin nodded in agreement. "Yeah…you're right, Cyborg." With that, the three of them closed down the interrogation room and left to attempt to get some sleep.

* * *

She looked so comfortable lying there in her own bed, in her own room, in her own home.

Beast Boy didn't even know if he should wake her to tell her everything was over. Instead, he took her hand, pressed it to his forehead, and began to cry. _It's over, Raven,_ he thought. _You're safe._

Just then, she awoke and noticed the green-skinned teen sitting across from her. She dryly asked, "Can I have my hand back now, please?"

He sat up, a little surprised, and answered, "Y…yeah. Raven, I'm so glad you're okay."

"Thanks, but I could have handled him on my own," she said.

"I don't think so. You were helpless. I mean, your hands were cuffed behind you and your communicator was here in your room. If I hadn't shown up, you'd be dead right now."

"Please, just get out of my room."

"Starfire even said you were crying when they got there. I never thought I'd see that coming from you, even after being in your head."

"Please leave. I'm not going to tell you again."

"Raven, what's wrong? Does someone need a hug?"

"GET OUT!"

That familiar black aura enveloped Beast Boy and flung him out of her room into the hallway. She was about to close the door when he suddenly stuck his hand in between the panels and pushed them back.

"Raven, I don't blame you if you want to be alone, but all I want is some gratitude for what I did."

"You saved me. Whoop-dee-do. It's happened before, and it'll no doubt happen again."

"Yeah, but can you really say your life was in danger all those other times? Can you really sit there and tell yourself that you could've stopped a serial rapist with your hands cuffed behind you and being unable to talk?"

"Beast Boy…"

"If I wasn't there to stop him, what do you _really_ think would have happened?"

She thought about it for a few seconds, and then it hit her. Her powers hadn't come back until an hour after they'd returned to the tower. There was no way she would have been able to fight him off. Her face softened and tears started to well in her eyes.

Tears began to run down Beast Boy's face and his voice cracked as he said, "I saved your life, Raven! Doesn't that _mean_ anything to you?"

Raven was speechless. Not only was Beast Boy right, but her mask of relief wasn't holding up either. The only words she could muster were "I…I'm sorry."

He replied, barely keeping his composure, "You don't have to be sorry, Raven. All I wanted was…was to check to see if you were okay. Judging from…from your response you are, so I don't…I don't have to worry anymore. Never mind."

He sadly turned to leave but felt himself being spun around. When his bearings returned, he was staring into the tear-stained eyes of his teammate, his friend, and after today, his life. Through her tears, she said, "Someone needs a hug."

She walked into his arms and they embraced, heads on each other's shoulders, sobbing and gently rocking each other back and forth until they sunk to the floor.

Raven whispered in his ear, "Thank you, Gar. Thank you."

He replied, barely audible through his sobs, "I love you, Raven. I love you with all my heart. I don't want to lose you."

"You will never lose me." Then she said the words that made everything the two of them had gone through in the past three days worthwhile.

"I love you too, Gar."

He squeezed his arms tight around her for a few seconds, then let his grip loosen a bit, still embracing her. The load seemed to lift from his shoulders as they lay there on the floor next to her bed, arms around each other, whispering words of comfort and holding on throughout the night.

Early the next morning, Cyborg found them asleep on the floor in each other's arms.


	8. A New Normal

TWO WEEKS LATER

Slowly but surely, a new normal began to take place.

Bumblebee had recovered from the experience and was back fighting crime alongside her teammates.

Cyborg delivered the eulogy at Jinx's funeral and earned a peace offering from the entire Hive Academy.

Killer Moth had retired from villainy a day after the incident his daughter had experienced—imagine his surprise, not to mention Kitten's, when Robin showed up unannounced a week later to take her on a date…this time of his own free will. His original intent was to see if her recovery was going okay, but her happiness upon seeing him at her door and throughout the day was proof enough.

Crimewise, Speedy's DNA work had indeed proven Barry Hamilton to be the Trenchcoat Rapist. For their bravery and success in stopping him, the Titans had been awarded the key to the city and gained even more respect from the citizens of Jump City than ever before. Now, whenever Beast Boy had to face a villain, they almost immediately gave up. Mumbo and Cinderblock even went straight because of him.

Back at the tower, it was a day like any other. Robin was honing his combat skills and his detective work, Starfire was out at the mall of shopping (they loved how she said that), Raven was reading on the couch, and Beast Boy and Cyborg were locked in Super Ninja Fury combat once again. Again, Beast Boy had Cy nearly down to his last, and again, Cyborg began to employ his secret comeback strategy.

But this time, Beast Boy saw it coming.

As Cyborg's foot hooked his controller cord, Beast Boy put his hand into his power converter and switched him off. Cy's body went limp as Beast Boy delivered the knockout punch.

He jumped off the couch and said, "OH YEAH! Payback is sweet! Who's your daddy now, Cy?" He switched him back on.

"Wha…what happened?" He looked up at the screen. "What the…? I _LOST?_ You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Nope, it's no joke! You saw what happened, didn't you, Raven?"

She looked up from her book and said, "Yeah, I saw it."

Cy's jaw dropped in shock.

"YES! You see that, Cy? Raven knows the score!" He dropped a CD into the player, and soon, the shuffling mambo chorus of System Of A Down's "Revenga" filled the room as Beast Boy danced around, gloating all the while. Raven tried her best to stifle a smile as he did the robot, the pop and lock, and the worm back to back to back. Just then, Starfire walked into the room, shopping bags in hand, and remarked, "For what reason is Beast Boy having a seizure?"

Raven said, cocking her head towards the TV, "He finally beat Cyborg."

"He has? Glorious! Let us celebrate by consuming unhealthy quantities of the mun-chies and…"

Before she could finish, Beast Boy rushed up, grabbed her and began to dance the mambo with her. Star tried her best to keep up with him as Raven giggled silently to herself and Cyborg sat there stewing in his own juices.

All of a sudden, Robin burst in the door and yelled, "Titans! Trouble!"

Beast Boy and Starfire stopped dancing, and Raven and Cyborg looked over the couch. Beast Boy asked, "What's going on, Rob?"

"It's Plasmus! He's escaped and he's headed for the bank downtown!"

"Well, what are we sitting here for?" Cyborg yelled. "Let's go stop him!"

With that, the Teen Titans gathered together. They had been through a lot the past few weeks—they'd seen things no one should see and done things no one should do, and they'd come out on top. Even though things were back to normal--as normal as they could be now--Robin had made sure that no one went out alone to fight crime anymore. There would be no more one-man battles--everything from now on would be done as a team.

It was a chance he didn't want to take, and they couldn't blame him.

Despite the sheer brutality of what had happened two weeks ago, the Teen Titans had survived. They had looked the devil in the eye and walked away in one piece. As they stood today, ready to face down the latest threat to the city, they were smarter, wiser, and more confident in each other than ever before, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

There was no time to lose.

"Titans…_GO!"_

FIN

* * *

Strapping Young Lad quote copyright 2003 by Devin Townsend.

Coheed And Cambria quote copyright 2005 by Claudio Sanchez.

And that's my first fic--this is what happens when the midsection of Metallica's "To Live Is To Die," Testament's "D.N.R.," Exodus' "Karma's Messenger" and "I Am Abomination," and one too many viewings of Sin City and Hostel collide. Questions? Comments? Doubts of my sanity? Post 'em!


End file.
